DOMINICAN REPUBLIC IS THE TOURISM LEADER IN THE CARIBBEAN

In 2014 the Dominican Republic was named the Caribbean’s main tourist destination and the one with the highest growth compared to 2013, amounting to almost 10 per cent.

This was revealed by the comparative data on tourist arrivals by air in the five main holiday locations in the region compiled by Giacomo di Lauro Viva of Wyndham Resorts in collaboration with Marina Vivas Sabido, statistics manager of Riviera Maya.

According to the report, Riviera Maya (Mexico), Cuba, Jamaica and Bahamas – the other four countries surveyed – also saw increases last year with an average, including the Dominican Republic, of 7.22%, totalling 14,291,813 tourists all together in the five destinations.

The Dominican Republic, with a 9.84% growth, ended 2014 with a record 4,464,643 non-resident travellers arriving at the country's airports, which accounts for 31.24% of total arrivals at the five locations surveyed, according to figures released by Travel Trade Caribbean.

This is followed by Riviera Maya with 3,551,878 visitors (+ 8.60% and a 24.85% share of the total); Cuba with 3,002,745 tourists (+ 5.26% and a 21.01% share); Jamaica with 1,929,454 tourists (+ 3.68% and a 13.50% share); and the Bahamas with 1,343,093 visitors (+ 4.87% and a 9.39% share).

Figures available for 2015 indicate that arrivals in Cuba for the first two months of this year have shown a 14.94% increase over the same period in 2014. During the same period, the Dominican Republic experienced growth of 6.34%, while Jamaica grew by 4.68% this January.